“When I first got in on his hips, I took him down to the ground and
I started setting my hooks in, and as he was crawling to the fence,
that’s when he left his head open. So that’s when I grabbed the
rear-naked choke, but I wasn’t quite under his chin. That’s why he
was giving the ref the thumbs-up. I was just kind of holding
position. I knew I had a little bit of time. I looked up to my
corner -- I wanted to see exactly how much time I had. I didn’t
want to rush anything, and then when I realized that I had enough
time, I was trying to decide either to let go and start punching,
finishing strong, or just go for the choke and just kind of give it
everything I had. I think there was like 25 seconds left, 30
seconds left and I just went as hard as I could for the choke. He
fought it off a couple of times, and eventually it slipped under
his chin. It was just a matter of time until he was ready to go
out, and he tapped. Sixteen seconds left, it really couldn’t get
any closer than that.”

Curran was headed for a loss Friday night in Hammond, Ind. After a
competitive first round, champion Daniel
Straus took over in the five-round affair. However, Curran
wasn’t ready to table his title aspirations. With just 14 seconds
left, the fight ended with Straus succumbing to a rear-naked choke
that seemingly came out of nowhere. “Paddy Mike” joined TJ on
Monday to talk about the fight, the epic comeback, and what he had
to do to snatch the title from the jaws of defeat.

Bellator’s 10th season continues this Friday night. CEO Bjorn
Rebney joined TJ De Santis to talk about this week’s upcoming card
which features a light-heavyweight unification fight between
champion Attila Vegh
and interim champion Emanuel Newton. Rebney also discusses various
tournament bouts and recaps last Friday’s Bellator 112 card.

Johny Hendricks became the UFC’s welterweight champion Saturday
night in Dallas when he defeated Robbie
Lawler. Striking coach Steven Wright was in the corner of
Hendricks at UFC 171. The Team Takedown instructor joined TJ to
chat about the contest, the strategy implemented as the fight
played out, and how important the final round was in securing the
title.

TJ also takes listener calls, emails, and tweets. He also tries out
a new segment called “Quick Hits.” Check out the show here.

The Sherdog Radio Network is powered by GoDaddy.com. Click here
to save 30% on new product orders. Use the promo code:
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A sound grappler and deft counterpuncher, Curran has won his last
six fights, four of them finishes. He last appeared at Bellator 95
in April, when he choked Shahbulat
Shamhalaev unconscious with a first-round guillotine at the
Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. Curran also holds victories
over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16 finalist Mike Ricci,
reigning featherweight King of Pancrase Marlon
Sandro and
Team Nogueira’s Patricio
Freire.

Before downshifting to 145 pounds, Curran challenged for Bellator
gold as a lightweight, losing a unanimous decision to then-champion
Eddie
Alvarez. He has not lost since.

Those in MMA celebrating a birthday the week covering Aug. 25-Aug.
31:

Wednesday

6:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 5 Episode 8: Not on the Concrete Dana White sits down with
the Coaches to decide the 4 quarterfinal match-ups. A brutal street
fight takes place in the house that has serious ramifications.

7:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 5 Episode 9: It Was a Brawl In the second quarterfinal fight
Brandon
Melendez (Team Pulver) takes on Gray
Maynard (Team Penn).

8:00 p.m. ET The Score: UFC Wired
Joe Rogan hosts this UFC highlight show featuring some of the best
bouts from years past.

9:00 p.m. ET The Score: The Ultimate Fighter Team Jones vs. Team
Sonnen
The Ultimate Fighter features professional MMA fighters living
together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as they train and
compete against each other for a prized contract with the UFC.

9:00 p.m. ET MavTV: King of the Cage: Greatest KO's 2
Devastating knockouts that changed the history of MMA.

10:00 p.m. ET SpikeTV: Fight Master: Bellator MMA
Season 1 Episode 1: Fight to Choose The elimination round begins as
ten fighters battle in the cage to determine who will make the
Fight Master Tournament.

Curran rendered Shamhalaev unconscious with a first-round
guillotine choke, as he retained the Bellator
MMA featherweight championship with a technical submission in
the Bellator
95 main event on April 4 at the Revel Resort and Casino in
Atlantic City, N.J. Shamhalaev went limp 2:38 into round one.

After a brief feeling-out process, Curran moved in for a sneaky
takedown and caught an arm-in guillotine as Shamhalaev attempted to
counter. The 29-year-old Russian fought valiantly to escape the
choke but blacked out within the champion’s clutches. The defeat
snaps Shamhalaev’s streak of six consecutive wins.

11:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate InsiderChael
Sonnen all-access account of his UFC on FOX; the greatest trash
talker of them all; Sonnen mic'd up for his real time reaction to
the legendary fight between Shogun and Henderson.

10:00 p.m. ET AXS: TV Fights The Best Knockouts of 2012
Highlights from the year.

10:30 p.m. ET The Score: The Score Fighting Series
The Score Fighting Series (SFS) features fighters from North
America and beyond with a focus on exciting match-ups and
developing the next generation of great fighters. Tune in for
non-stop action from events across the country.

11:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 17 Episode 5: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen: The Reflection of
Perfection Mickey Rourke visits Team Sonnen to share insights from
his days as a boxer; coach Jones wonders if a competitor is ready
to fight; two fighters meet for the fourth preliminary fight.

Every Wednesday, Administrative Editor Jordan Breen welcomes a member
of the mixed martial arts media into “Press Row” on the Sherdog.com
blog. This week, Breen is joined by Wrestling Observer Newsletter
founder and editor Dave
Meltzer.

With Bellator's eighth season kickoff slated for Thursday
in Irvine, Calif., Breen and Meltzer discuss the season's
potential and importance for the company, now owned by Viacom and
broadcasting live on Spike. The two delve into what kind of ratings
can be expected, the role pro-wrestling organization TNA will play
as a lead-in for the first live event on Spike, the configuration
of the live card and Bellator's struggle to make television stars
in the MMA game.

The pair discuss the signing and promotion of Muhammed
Lawal, his stint in TNA and the shortcomings of the idea, why
Josh
Barnett might be the best candidate for a simultaneous
Bellator-TNA fighting-wrestling star and the negative ramifications
of Bellator's negotiations with Eddie Alvarez.